2021 Formula One Monaco Grand Prix

After two years, the Monaco Grand Prix is back! Let's get talking about F1's first race at a street circuit since Singapore in 2019.

It has felt like an age since the drivers have been tested around a street circuit, and while it has not always produced the most exciting races, there is plenty to look forward to about this weekend's visit to the Côte d'Azur.

In unique Monaco fashion, practice got underway today rather than on a Friday, a tradition that has been maintained since the original Grand Prix was held on a bank holiday weekend. With the new shorter practice format and narrow track aplenty, there was lots to keep the drivers on their toes as this year's rookies familiarised themselves with the walls. We certainly won't be debating track limit rules this weekend!

Cool and dry weather is expected throughout the event, which seems to have favoured the Mercedes car in recent history. That being said, Monaco tends to see the order mixed up a little due to the unusual nature of the tight and twisty circuit. A few parts of the track have been resurfaced this year, with some of the drivers noting the higher grip levels. While Sergio Perez topped the morning session, Charles Leclerc led a very strong Ferrari one-two in the afternoon, with championship leader Hamilton almost half a second off the pace.

With the Briton being the last to take pole at Monaco, and Mercedes showing impressive low-speed performance this year, he probably remains the favourite, with Max Verstappen a strong contender as ever. However, Ferrari's impressive pace caught the grid's attention, and while it was some time ago, they did take a comfortable win at F1's last street circuit event.

Let's get talking about what we're looking forward to this weekend, and cast your vote to let us know if you think Ferrari will be on the podium. Their speed today has certainly given us something else to look forward to come Saturday and qualifying.

Qualification Results​

The drama kicked off before the lights even went out at the Monaco Grand Prix, as pole sitter, Charles Leclerc limped back to the pits on an installation lap. Unable to resolve the issue in time for the race start, the Monegasque driver was unable to make the start line, to begin his home race from pole. Nonetheless, in a classy move he made his way to the grid to stand for his national anthem with the rest of his peers.

Max Verstappen defended his lead into turn one from Valtteri Bottas, despite starting from the dirty side of the track and on the outside into Sainte Devote. Typical of races at Monaco, there was little action to follow until the pit window. When we got there however, there was plenty of drama as a reward.

Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire in an incredibly unusual way, when the front-right wheel gun machined the nut onto his front axle, leaving the team unable to change the remaining tyre. This created an opportunity for Lando Norris to move up into the podium places, after a strong weekend.

Other drivers who made strong gains in the race were Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel, who managed to jump Gasly and Hamilton in the pit window with an overcut. Gasly was unable to match Perez and Vettel for pace after his first pitstop, with Hamilton stuck behind the Frenchman, after being unable to jump him on his two lap undercut strategy.

There was little further action beyond some black and white flags for Norris and Tsunoda due to some track limit violations, which saw Max Verstappen cross the line to take his first ever win at Monaco. He was followed by Carlos Sainz, who took his first podium with Ferrari, and Lando Norris after yet another very impressive weekend.

Race Results​

* Fastest Lap +1 point

With Verstappen's first win at Monaco, also came the championship lead, after Lewis Hamilton struggled to get his tyres working like his teammate in qualifying, and was then unable to claw back the deficit in the race. He did however manage to steal a bonus point for taking fastest lap away from Yuki Tsunoda, with a late pitstop.

Having taken the championship lead for the first time in his career, Verstappen is now the only driver on the grid to have finished in the top two at every race so far in 2021. Such consistency is usually key to putting together a strong championship challenge. No doubt though that his seven-time world champion rival, Lewis Hamilton will be looking to bounce back in Baku.

Drivers Standings​

After Valtteri Bottas' pitstop misfortune, and a tough weekend for their world champion, the Monaco Grand Prix saw Mercedes lose top spot in the constructors standings to Red Bull. However, with 18 races to go it is still very early days, and nobody doubts the speed nor resilience of the team at Brackley.

Team Standings​

We hope you enjoyed the Monaco Grand Prix, as F1 looks ahead to its next chapter in Azerbaijan, in two weeks' time.